venus de milo

As promised, let me introduce you to Venus de Milo, or Aphrodite as she is known by the ancient Greeks. I had anticipated meeting her for years but I did it was a bit of an anti-climax. Of course I was impressed, especially by the fact this sculpture is over 2,100 years old, but I was not sure why this work gained the reputation as the most beautiful and significant ancient Greek sculpture in the world. I later discovered that much of this reputation came from hype generated by the French authorities after they reluctantly returned to the Italians the much more beautiful and significant Medici Venus that had been stolen by Napoleon Bonaparte. Just goes to show that even beauty is a matter of politics.

As for the picture, I snapped it as I came of the escalator that leads to the exhibit. Note the perfect framing of the arch over Venus' head and the nice perspective given by the lady off to the right looking up. I wish I could say I planned these features, but they were just luck